New Law to Require Insurance Coverage of Weight Loss Surgery amidst Louisiana’s Obesity Epidemic

Starting next year commercial insurers will be required to cover the cost of bariatric surgery. Medicaid currently covers weight loss surgery. On January 1, 2025 commercial insurers will be required to cover the surgery for patients who have a body mass index, or BMI, over 40, or 35 BMI and up if they also have another disease.
Baton Rouge state Senator Regina Barrow co-sponsored Senate Bill 106 and says this is an important new law in a state with a 40 percent obesity rate. Without health insurance coverage for bariatric surgery it can typically cost from $20,000 to $25,000, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Medicaid in Louisiana covers bariatric surgery. This includes “open or laparoscopic procedures that revise the gastrointestinal anatomy to restrict the size of the stomach, reduce absorption of nutrients, or both,” according to the United Healthcare Community Plan.
In a Louisiana Radio Network report, Barrow explains why she so strongly supports this legislation to fight obesity. “We look at really improving the quality of life of individuals as well as better impacting the quality of Louisiana’s life.”
According to research released in March from personal finance company WalletHub, three Louisiana cities rank in the top 10 most obese cities in the country, which include Shreveport (#3), Lafayette (#8), and Baton Rouge (#9). The ranking of obese cities also includes Little Rock, Arkansas (#5), while McAllen (#1), in far south Texas, ranked as the most obese city in the United States.

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WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe explained, “[I]n the most overweight and obese cities, residents often lack easy access to healthy food and recreation opportunities.”
A study released September 2, 2023, by wellness and fitness company Total Shape, shows an obesity rate of 47.91% in Louisiana (#7), while 48.79% of people in Arkansas (#5) are considered obese. Oklahoma (#4) ranked even higher with 49.52%.